Pistol Prodigies wrap up a fantastic 10th season!
Pistol Prodigies Youth Pistol and Rifle Team.
submitted by Lisa and Scott Poet, Pistol Prodigies Youth Pistol and Rifle Team
The Pistol Prodigies Youth Pistol and Rifle Team recently wrapped up their 10th season. Are you interested in joining the team or learning more about it? We have a few open spots for new athletes. Please join us at the Manchester Community School Open Houses on Wednesday, August 21. You do not have to live in Manchester to join the team. We have two upcoming informational meetings at the Manchester Sportsman Club on Tuesday, August 27, and Wednesday, September 4, both at 7pm. Find out how to join the fastest-growing youth sport in America, competitive shooting!
The team was started in 2014 by head coaches Lisa and Scott Poet. The first season we had six athletes who competed in a few “local” matches and won 3rd place in the Junior Rimfire (pistol) Division at the Michigan State Match. Ten years later, we finished the season with 28 squad medals and 12 HOA (High Over All) medals from one regional match, two state matches, and the Scholastic Action Shooting Program (SASP) National Championships.
Our 2023–24 roster includes: Rookies (3rd through 5th grade) — Alex, Ava, Bradley, Jade, and Violet. Intermediates (6th through 8th grade) — CJ, Drey, Fisher, Hunter H., and Noah. Seniors (9th through 12th grade) — Ashley, Bodi, Brooke, Hunter A., Tori, Vince, and Wesley.
Before we get into the details of all our success, let’s discuss how we got to the finish line. Our 10th season began September 1. Weekly practices are a big part of our success. Every Wednesday night, you could find the team at the Manchester Sportsman Club working on the necessary skills. SAFETY is always the most important aspect in shooting. We are very proud of the way that all our athletes demonstrate safe gun handling every day.
Shooting skills come next. Our coaching crew consists of Coach Lisa, Coach Scott, and Coach Jeff, along with Jr. Coach Wesley and Jr. Coach Bodi. Each of them is a Certified SSSF Action Shooting Sports Coach. With 17 kids on the team, each with a different skill set, that means the coaches are teaching at 17 different levels. Our crew is always up to the task. Rounding out our volunteer crew are Gary and Nick. They help keep the kids organized, ready to go, and they jump in wherever they are needed. Beyond the official crew listed above, we have many of our parents who are always jumping in to lend a hand whenever necessary.
As the days got shorter and the weather got less inviting, our practices shifted gears. Our very first team sponsor, Ann Arbor Arms, has opened their ranges to us for many years for winter practices. These indoor practices help to keep the kids’ skills fresh, while letting them stay warm as they continue learning. The team also gets together to work on team-building activities. While we are a shooting team, it is important for the kids to learn life skills away from the range.
As spring arrived, practices once again moved outdoors. With 17 kids on the team, it takes some great facilities to accommodate all of us. A big thank you to both the Brooklyn Sportsman’s Club and Manchester Sportsman Club for allowing the team to practice weekly on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Every week our team works hard to get better than the previous practice and to be ready to compete with the other SASP teams. SASP is a team sport that awards 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place “squad” awards for 4-person squads. They also award individual High Over All (HOA) awards for the three fastest athletes in the appropriate disciplines. The Pistol Prodigies compete throughout the Midwest.
The SASP Great Lakes Regional, May 18–19, in Brooklyn, Mich., was our first contest. There we earned five 1st-place, one 2nd-place, and two 3rd-place squad medals, and two 1st-place and three 3rd-place individual HOA medals.
Next was the Ohio State Shoot, June 8–9, in Marengo, Ohio. When the results were tallied, we brought home four 1st-place, four 2nd-place, and two 3rd-place squad medals, along with one 2nd-place and two 3rd-place HOAs.
The Michigan SASP State Championships, June 22–23, in Sturgis, Mich., wrapped up our regular season of competition before Nationals. Our squads won five 1st-place, four 2nd-place, and one 3rd-place standings. Individually we earned one 1st-place, one 2nd-place, and one 3rd-place HOA. In addition to regular awards, each state has two “All State” teams, one pistol and one rifle team, made up of the four fastest pistol shooters and the four fastest rifle shooters from the State Match, respectively. These All-State Teams then compete at the National Championships for additional awards. Based on the disciplines we shoot, we were eligible for six of eight total All-State slots. The Pistol Prodigies swept all six spots that we could! While we didn’t win the All-State Team competition at Nationals, we are very proud of our kids for earning all four All-State Rifle Team and two All-State Pistol Team spots!
The SASP National Championships wrapped up our competition season in July. This year SASP broke another world record with over 2,600 entries being shot over nine days. With our sister program, SCTP, there were an estimated 3 million rounds of ammunition fired, with ZERO firearm incidents. This speaks to the fact that both programs teach safety and responsibility constantly. And we have some of the most dedicated volunteers, athletes, parents, and families in the world!
The Pistol Prodigies athletes kept up their great performances at Nationals. Many personal bests and team records were beaten. We had two Top 10 squad placings, 7th and 9th place by our Rookies. Individually, we had four Top 10 individual placings, including a 3rd-place HOA by one of our Rookies! It was one of our best Nationals to date!
The Pistol Prodigies have been a Varsity Lettered Sport at Manchester High School since 2020. We are also a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Being a nonprofit allows us to conduct fundraising events, such as raffles and other fundraising events. Keep an eye out this fall for our next Gun-A-Day Raffle. Donations to the team are always welcome and appreciated. These donations may be tax deductible, so please consult your tax advisor.
We also have many team sponsors. Our Platinum Sponsors are CMR Mechanical and Kustom Disaster Recovery. Our Founding Sponsors include Ann Arbor Arms, Buzzsaw’s Stump Grinding, Full House Insulators, Hit-Em-Back Tracking Service, L&B Excavating, Linda’s Diner, MidwayUSA Foundation, Rare Tool, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and Sidearm Defense Training, LLC. The team also has some great friends that are sponsors, too: Arnie and Cheryl Trombley, Miss Diana, and Mr. S. Thank you to all our sponsors! You make it so that we can do what we love! And, of course, thank you to the Manchester Mirror for helping us share our team’s successes!
Please check us out at www.pistolprodigies.org, visit with us at the MCS Open Houses August 21, and join us for our informational meetings August 27 or September 4. You can follow the team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pistolprodigies.
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